Pod Save America – "Don't Poo — Vote!"

Release Date: November 4, 2025
Hosts: Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor
Special Guest Interview: George Reddes
Episode Overview:
In this pre-election special, the Pod Save America team breaks down Donald Trump's headline-dominating 60 Minutes interview, the administration's latest hardline actions—from immigration to potential foreign conflicts—and the political drama unfolding in the last days before the 2025 elections. The show concludes with an emotional and powerful interview with George Reddes, an army veteran and American citizen who was unjustly detained by ICE, shining a spotlight on civil rights abuses and federal accountability.

Main Themes

• Analysis of Trump’s 60 Minutes interview and administration policy shifts
• Heightened government actions on immigration, pardons, and military deployment
• The intra-MAGA rift triggered by Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes
• The political and rhetorical impact of corruption, excess, and party infighting
• An emotional narrative exposing law enforcement overreach and the fight for civil liberties

Episode Breakdown

Trump’s 60 Minutes Interview: Key Moments and Implications

[02:18 – 13:29]

Deportations, ICE, and Military Use Against Americans

• Trump told Norah O'Donnell he doesn’t believe ICE raids have gone too far and would "do more," even deploying military into American cities via the Insurrection Act if he "wanted to."
  • Quote:
    • Trump: “If you had to send in the army, or if you had to send in the Marines, I'd do that in a heartbeat.” [05:21]
• The hosts reacted with alarm at the normalization of increasingly brutal immigration tactics:
  • Tommy: “Stories about Americans getting beat up, George Reddes’s story, the priest we’ve talked about who got shot in the head with a pepper ball…people don’t like that.” [05:53]
  • Lovett: "He will never, ever say yes" to going too far, instead performing "tough guy" rhetoric for the cameras [07:12]
• Negative public opinion on ICE has reached a new high, particularly among Black and Hispanic voters. [08:37]

Pay-for-Play Pardons: The Binance (CZ) Scandal

• Trump pardoned Binance founder CZ after a $2 billion investment in the Trump family crypto (USD1), but claims not to know him:
  • O'Donnell: “How do you address the appearance of pay-for-play?”
  • Trump: “I know nothing about it because I'm too busy doing other… I can only tell you that.” [10:48]
• Hosts expose the corruption:
  • Tommy: “Binance asked that it [investment] be done in USD1…Trump family will make an estimated $80 million per year in interest alone off that investment.” [12:18]
  • Lovett: “My doing. This wasn’t corruption. It’s pure incompetence.” [13:29]

Sympathy for the Powerful: On Prince Andrew

• Trump expresses empathy for Prince Andrew and the Royal Family, not the Epstein survivors:
  • “It’s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.” [15:15]
  • Tommy: “Not the families of the victims. He feels bad for the Royal family. …It’s gross.” [15:15]
  • Lovett: “He’s shown a great deal of empathy in the past couple of weeks for Argentinian beef producers and Prince Andrew.” [16:20]

Trump’s Foreign Policy Escalation

[19:13 – 35:23]

Venezuela: Military Buildup and Regime Sabre-Rattling

• Trump refuses to directly answer if land strikes in Venezuela will occur but hints at targeting Maduro. [19:25-20:00]
• Significant military escalation in the Caribbean, with 16,000 troops plus attack aircraft, subs, and ships.
  • Tommy: “Marco Rubio wants a regime change operation … it’s completely insane.” [20:47]
  • Lovett: “It’s so sad that this is happening while John Bolton is unavailable.” [22:10]
• Public (finally) turns against intervention in Venezuela after years of polling support for boat strikes. [22:46-23:10]

Nigeria: Another Military Threat

• Trump threatens action to protect Christians in Nigeria, despite lack of factual basis.
  • Tommy: “Making this like a Muslim vs. Christian thing is really unhelpful. …Trump is tweeting about Christians in Nigeria. It’s just very divorced from reality.” [26:53]

Nuclear Testing and the Filibuster

• Trump misstates facts about nuclear weapons testing, suggesting Russia and China are testing warheads:
  • O'Donnell: “The only country testing nuclear weapons is North Korea.”
  • Trump: “No, no. Russia’s testing nuclear weapons. And China’s testing them too. You just don’t know about it.” [28:17–28:34]
• Trump also calls for ending the filibuster as a solution to the government shutdown—contradicting Senate Republicans like John Thune. [33:06–34:53]

Optics, Corruption, and the White House Gatsby Party

[38:23 – 45:44]

Mishandling SNAP Benefits During the Shutdown

• The administration makes a partial concession on food stamps, but millions still face hardship.
• Meanwhile, Trump hosts a Great Gatsby-themed White House party and renovates the Lincoln Bedroom bathroom in gold and marble:
  • Lovett: “It is so fucking funny…this marble clad fucking contractor flip house marble monstrosity. I fucking love it.” [40:00]
  • Tommy: “Trump is clearly in the YOLO period of his presidency… the total disregard for optics or the politics…is genuinely shocking to me.” [41:59]
• The hosts discuss how these excesses define the narrative of the shutdown and growing public anger.

Intra-MAGA Rift: Tucker Carlson Interviews Nick Fuentes

[46:27 – 55:11]

• Tucker Carlson features Nick Fuentes (white nationalist) on his show; Carlson declines to push back on anti-Semitic conspiracy theory claims.
  • Clip (paraphrased): "International Jewish community… extremely organized… putting interests of themselves before the interests of their home country." [46:34]
• Ben Shapiro and other establishment conservatives sharply condemn Carlson, while Heritage Foundation defends him.
  • Lovett: “That’s somebody to cancel. Whatever cancellation means, if it means anything, it should mean you cancel Nick Fuentes.” [47:50]
  • Tommy: “He’s a scary figure… He wants to repeal the 19th amendment. ...Someone who is trying to step into the void left after Charlie Kirk’s assassination and continue to pull Young Republican men to the right.” [50:21]
• The hosts emphasize the dangerous normalization of bigotry and rising antisemitism, especially on social media.

Elections Eve: Democrats on Defense, Trump on the Sidelines

[55:11 – 60:00]

• Despite the upcoming elections—including Prop 50 in California, gubernatorial races in NJ/VA, and local contests—Trump is absent from the trail, sticking to tele-rallies.
• Barack Obama’s barnstorming rallies for Democrats are detailed, with Obama deftly satirizing the White House’s focus on luxury rather than policy or public service:
  • Obama/Spanberger rally clip: “If you can’t visit a doctor, don’t worry. He will save you a dance.” [55:56–56:18]
  • Episode title: “Don’t poo—vote!” coined after a riff mocking viral right-wing social media
• Political implications: polls are showing increasing dissatisfaction with Trump and Republican governance, despite Democratic unpopularity.

Interview Highlight: George Reddes’ Story of ICE Detention

[63:18 – 92:51]
(A must-listen segment; deeply personal and eye-opening.)

George Reddes recounts:

• Backstory: US Army veteran, Ventura CA native, entered the workforce after service
• Incident: On July 10, driving to work (with veteran plates and stickers), encountered ICE agents. Despite repeatedly asserting citizenship and military service, agents were hostile, physically aggressive, deployed tear gas, and violently detained him.
  • Quote: “I tell them I’m a US citizen…I was trapped in my car with tear gas, trying to catch my breath…they shattered my (window)…pepper sprayed me in the face…I'm pleading with them like I can’t see, I'm trying to leave.” [70:00–71:20]
• Detention: Placed in solitary on suicide watch for three days, denied calls to family/lawyer, missed daughter’s birthday, and ultimately released with no charges—never given an explanation or apology.
• ICE response: Later falsely accused Reddes of assaulting agents.
• Legal struggle: Filing suit; exposes near-impossibility of holding federal officers accountable under current law.
  • Reddes’ goal: Amend statute 1983 to allow suits against federal agents (not just state/local), pressing for accountability for constitutional violations. [84:37–85:39]
• Refusal to stay silent:
  • Reddes: "I'm not the type of person to just let something happen to them and walk away... I'll take this head on. I'll take the weight of the world against me and I'll see this through." [89:12]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump on ICE and military deployments:
  • “If you had to send in the army, or if you had to send in the Marines, I’d do that in a heartbeat.” [05:21]
• Lovett on "tough guy" performance:
  • “He will never, ever say yes” to going too far for a mainstream journalist. [07:12]
• Tommy on the administration’s corruption:
  • “The Trump family will make an estimated $80 million per year in interest alone off that investment. That’s how we got a pardon.” [12:18]
• Tommy on extrajudicial killings:
  • “You’re neighbors with the cousin of a drug trafficker. You can be blown up under a three hop intelligence scenario. It’s insane.” [24:25]
• Lovett on White House “Gatsby” party:
  • “It is so fucking funny… it’s just this marble clad contractor flip house monstrosity." [40:00]
• Lovett on Nick Fuentes:
  • “That’s somebody to cancel. Whatever cancellation means, if it means anything, it should mean you cancel Nick Fuentes.” [47:50]
• Reddes on not giving up:
  • “I'm not the type of person to just let something happen...I'll take this head on. I'll take the weight of the world against me and I'll see this through.” [89:12]
• Obama riffing at rally:
  • “If you can't visit a doctor, don't worry, he will save you a dance.” [55:56–56:18]

Segment Timestamps

• 02:18 — Opening and New York election snarkery
• 03:03 — 60 Minutes Interview Overview
• 04:38 — Immigration, ICE brutality, and public opinion polling
• 10:19 — Binance/CZ, pay-for-play pardon
• 15:15 — Prince Andrew and Trump’s sympathy for the powerful
• 19:13 — Venezuela saber-rattling and military buildup
• 24:48 — Nigeria military threats and religious politics
• 28:17 — Nuclear weapons testing confusion
• 33:03 — Filibuster debate amid the government shutdown
• 38:23 — SNAP benefits, White House Gatsby party, and renovation optics
• 46:27 — MAGA split over Tucker’s Nick Fuentes interview
• 55:11 — Election Eve, Obama back on the trail, Dem strategies
• 63:18 — George Reddes interview: ICE detention and civil rights
• 92:59 — Outro, call to vote, and upcoming Crooked events

Conclusion

This episode blends sharp, irreverent political analysis with a passionate defense of democracy and justice. From the failings of Trump's administration and GOP infighting, to the human impact of harsh immigration policy, to the unrepentant corruption and excess in the White House, the hosts highlight what is at stake on Election Day. The interview with George Reddes is a powerful reminder of the real stakes of government overreach and the importance of civic accountability. The episode’s tone is equal parts outrage, incredulity, and urgency—with humor and compassion throughout.